Flanged wire fabric



April 7, 1942.- E, 1 BLACKBURN 2,278,860

' 4 FLANGED WIRE FARIc Filed Oct. 29, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l A. A. of A A A. A AA. A. u

vAv n.l AvA i'i A v A A A 1 'A A A A' A Av Av 'A A lll ATTORNEYS.

April 7, 1942- E. L. BLACKBURN 2,278,860

` FLANGED WIRE FABRIC 'I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed otjze, 1938 m, Ffa- 111 n A i f }a N l l 1g Pfalz L J0 M @i "a A TTORNE YS.

www?? Patented Apr. 7, 1942 Uftli'i FLANGED WIRE FABRE) Ernest Linwood Blackburn, Audubon, N. J., as-

signor toKorb-Pettit Wire Fabrics & Iron Works, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application Gctober 29, 1938, Serial No. 237,660

(Cl. IFS-201) I3 Claims.

My invention relates to wire fabric adapted for use as a screen, apron, or belt, and particularly as a conveyor belt. The invention is especially concerned with wire fabric flanged `along one or both edges, and with making such marginally flanged fabric as flexible as possible, notwithstanding the bending of its margims) to one side to form a flange or flanges. I-Iitherto it has not been possible to produce wire fabric with laterally bent upstanding margins that would take a sharp bend, so that it has been necessary to provide wire 'fabric belting with edge flanges consisting of short overlapping sheet metal plates, attached to the wire fabric so as to interfere with its lexure as little as possible. Such a construction is expensive, and is also unsatisfactory in other ways.

My invention permits of making flexible wire fabric with outstanding marginal flanges formed by laterally bending wire str-ands of the body of the fabric, and sufficiently extensible to vlet the fabric take a sharp bend-virtually as sharp (in many cases) as the main body of the fabric would be capable of taking if it had no lateral ange(s). Such fabric is not difcult or costly to manufacture, but can, on the contrary, be rapidly produced in quantity by usual wire-fabric making methods and machinery, and at little more cost per pound than corresponding unflanged wire fabric. My invention is also adaptable to various entail any material change in the conformation n of the retained strands.` The fabric body condifferent flexible wire fabric constructions, only one of which is here illustrated and particularly referred to in the following explanation of theV invention. While the particular fabric here illustrated has its marginal flanges upstanding at right angles to the body of the fabric, the invention is equally applicable when the angle of -fabricin which coil strands are omittedy from the marginal flange(s), while in this present application I particularly disclose and specially claim the omission of pivot strands from the margin(s). In either case, the omission need not struction particularly shown and referred to in my said concurrently filed application is that disclosed in my application Serial No. 180,760', filed December 20, 1937, no-w Patent No. 2,149,384.

Various other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description of a species or form' of embodiment, and from the drawings. Aside from the texture of the main body portion ofthe fabric, all the features shown or described are of my invention, so far as novel over the prior art..

In the drawings,

Figs. I, II, and III are plan, end, and side views of lengths of flanged-edged flexible Wire fabric embodying my invention, Fig. III showing e the fabric bent around a segment of a curved guide or pulley rim, which appears in section.

Figs. IV and V areplan views of single wire coils which are elementsof the fabric construction shown in Figs. I, II, and III;

Figs. VI and VII are end views of these coils, from the right of Figs. IV and V; and,

Fig. VIII is a plan view of a plurality of such coils assembled' and pivotally connected together as in the completed fabric.

Fig. IX is a perspective View of a pivot connector for two coil elements such Ias shown in Figs. IV and V; and

Fig. X is a perspective view of a marginal securing'device such as shown in Fig. VI.

I will first describe the general construction of the illustrated fabric in its main body portion M, and then explain the construction of its upstanding marginal flanges m, m. To make the drawings clearer, some of the Wiresare stippled in certain figures.

Referring to Figs. I and II ofthe drawings, the main body portion M of the fabric there illustrated may be characterized as having each of its'faces formed by a series of transverse rows A of short lengths of wire lil and Il, which may be inclined relative to the length of the fabric, -preferably at different angles in alternate rows. As here shown, the lengths Il), ll in the successive rows A at each face of the' fabric are oppositely (but equally) inclined, so that any tendency of the lengths lil to push the fabric sidewise, in

service, by their engagement with supporting pulleys or rolls v(Fig. III) is counteracted by the opposite tendency of the lengths I l. The lengths I0, Il in the successive rows A interlap, somewhat, lengthwise of the fabric, as shown in Fig. I. At the two opposite faces of the fabric, a row yA of lengths Il] inclined one way lies opposite a corresponding row A of lengths I which are inclined the other way.

In the construction here illustrated, the fabric is made up by assembling wire coils or spirals a and a (Figs. IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII) which are oppositely wound as rights and lefts, but may otherwise be just alike. Preferably, the convolutions of these coils a and a' are elongated lengthwise of the fabric,-or in other words, flattened in the direction of its thickness. In this particular fabric, each row A of the short wire lengths IIJ or II corresponds to a pair of the right-wound coils a, a or of the left-wound coils a', a', and the convolutions a, a or a', a of each such pair are interjacent like the threads of a double-threaded right or left screw. Theadjacent pairs of coils a, a. or a', a' are assembled with their adjacent convolutions interlapped, and are secured together by a wire strand I3 inserted through the interlapped bends. From this beginning, any length of fabric desired can be built up by simply adding on more coils a, a and a', a', and securing them with the necessary additional strands I3.

The construction of the upturned margins m, m of the fabric is just like that of its main body portion M as regards the coils a and a', but differs as regards the connecting pivot strands I3, part of which are omitted from each upstanding margin or side flange of the fabric. In other words, certain of these pivot strands I3 terminate in the main body portion M of the fabric, as at the angle or upward bend of a margin m, and only the other such strands I3 are bent* to extend up through the interlapping bends of the coils a and a in this upstanding marginal flange m. The upper ends of such upward extending strands I3 are preferably attached to the upper ends of at least one of the coils a and a in a secure manner, as shown at I4,-as by electric welding or other method of fusion. In the particular piece of fabric illustrated, alternate strands I3 terminate at each edge of the main body M of the fabric, while those between extend up through the marginal flange m to the upper edge of the latter. As best shown in Fig. I, the strands I3 which extend up to the upper edge of one upstanding ange m of the fabric terminate in the body M f of the fabric at the base of the other such flange m, and vice-versa. This has the advantage that all the strands I3 in the fabric consist of equal lengths of wire, and so likewise all of the coils a and a.

From a comparison of the straight portion of the fabric at the right of Fig. III with the portion bent around the pulley at the left of this figure, it will be seen how the omission of alternate pivot strands I3 from the margin flange :.2:

m allows the coils a and a' which are thus left without connection by such strands I3 to separate more or less to allow the margin flange m to increase in length when the fabric flexes.

Preferably, the portions of the pivot strands |313. that are omitted from each margin m are re-.

placed with wire connectors U of hairpin form, whose ends or legs are inserted into the bends of the coils a and a' in question, which would otherwise be unconnected because of the omis- .l ,sion of such portions of the strands I3. These connectors U limit the separation of the coils a, a and the extension of the margins m and the flexure of the fabric. Each of the connectors U may be suitably secured or anchored in placeA in the fabric, as by having its extremities u, u

, bent and extended into the main body M of the fabric at either side of the corresponding pivot strand I3. In other words, the hairpin connector U as it exists in the fabric has its legs bent at an angle to the plane of the U at an intermediate point in their length, as best shown in Fig. X.

It will be seen from Fig- III that the separation of the bends of adjacent coils a and a permitted by the connectors U allows the fabric to take a relatively sharp bend. While alternate pivot strands I3 are shown replaced with connectors U in each upstanding margin flange of the fabric as shown in Figs. I, II, and III, the proportion of strands, along the length of the fabric, that are omitted from a marginal flange admits of variation: e. g., if greater flexibility (to permit the fabric to bend to a smaller radius than in Fig. III) were desired, more of the pivot strands I3 might be omitted from the upstanding fabric margins m, and replaced with connectors U; while if a lesser degree of flexibility were required, there might be more of the upstanding pivot strands I3 in the margin flange m, and fewer connectors U,for example, only every third or fourth strand I3 might be replaced with a connector U in the flange m. It will further be seen that the construction providing the margin flange m entails no modification of the coil elements a and a', other than bending them laterally at the desired angle of the margin(s) m with the main body of the fabric. Also, the margin 1lange(s) m remain(s) substantially continuous, unbroken, and fully effective when bent. The weight and cost of the material in the fabric is only very slightly increased, and the cost of fabrication is likewise very little increased.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A flexible wire fabric comprising a main body portion formed of a series of transversely extending coiled Wires with their end portions bent to one side of the general plane of the fabric to form an outstanding marginal flange therefor; and transversely extending pivot Wires interconnecting said coiled wires in the main body of the fabric to permit ilexure of the latter, each of said pivot wires having one of its ends terminating in the main body portion and its other end terminating in the flange whereby the laterally bent end portions of the corresponding Wire convolutions are accorded a freedom for relative movement that permits variation of said marginal flange in length when the fabric flexes.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 including hairpin wires engaged in adjacent convolutions of coiled wires in a marginal flange of the fabric, and thus limiting their separation when the fabric fleXes.

3. A flexible Wire fabric comprising a main body portion comprising transversely extending coiled wires and transverse pivot wires interconnecting them to permit flexure of said main body portion of the fabric, said coiled wires and a proportion only of said pivot wires, along the length of the fabric, being bent to one side of said main body portion of the fabric to form an outstanding marginal flange along the margin of the fabric, while the rest of said pivot wires terminate in said main body portion of the fabric, and thus leaving to laterally bent end portions of Wire convolutions in said marginal flange a freedom of relative movement that permits variation of the marginal flange in length when the fabric flexes. l

4. The invention as set forth in claim 3 including hairpin wires engaged in the adjacent Wire convolutions of said marginal flange between the laterally bent pivot strands that extend into said flange.

5. A flexible wire fabric comprising a series of transverse strands opposltely coiled in alternation and having their convolutions interlapp-ing in the general plane of the main body portion of the fabric, with their end portions bent to one side of said plane to form an outstanding marginal flange for the fabric; and transverse pivot strands extending through and interconnecting the interlapped convolutions in the general plane of the fabric, each of said pivot wires having one of its ends terminating in the main body portion and its other end terminating in the flange whereby the laterally outbent end portions of the corresponding wire convolutions are accorded a freedom of relative movement that permits variation of said marginal flange in length when the fabric exes.

6. The invention as dened in claim 5 wherein a proportion only of the pivot strands of the fabric are bent and extended into a marginal flange thereof, thus preventing separation in said flange of the convolutions which they interconnect there.

7. The invention as defined in claim 5 wherein the fabric has marginal llanges as aforesaid at both its opposite edges, and the pivot strands of the fabric are bent and extended into its opposite marginal flanges alternately only, thus preventing separation in each marginal flange of the convolutions which they interconnect there.

8. The invention as set forth in claim 5 including hairpin wires engaged in adjacent wire convolutions of a marginal flange of the fabric, and thus limiting their separation when the fabric ilexes.

9. The invention as set forth in claim 5 wherein some of the pivot strands of the fabric are laterally bent and extended into the corresponding adjacent convolutions in a marginal flange thereof, and including hairpin wires engaged in the adjacent convolutions of said marginal flange between said laterally bent pivot strands.

10. The invention as defined in claim 5 Wherein the fabric has marginal flanges as aforesaid at both its opposite edges, the alternate pivot strands of the fabric are bent and extended into the opposite marginal flanges, and including hairpin wires engaged in the adjacent convolutions of each marginal flange between the adjacent pivot strands which extend into said flange.

ll. The invention as set forth in claim 5 including hairpin wires engaged in adjacent wire convolutions of a marginal flange of the fabric, and also bent and extended in these convolutions into the general plane of the fabric,

l2. A conveyor belt structure made of helically coiled wires, and cross rods connecting said helically coiled wires, with flexible marginal walls or flanges formed by bending end portions of the helically coiled wires and the cross rods; each of said cross rods having an end portion in one wall or flange only of said conveyer structure.

13. A wire conveyor belt formed of a plurality ofl spiral wire members extending transversely of said belt; every other spiral wire being of a different twist, and cross rods connecting the several spiral wires; end portions of said spiral wire members and cross rods being bent substantially perpendicularly to the plane of said belt to provide and support upstanding flanges of substantial height along the parallel side edges of said belt and each of said cross rods having one end only in an upstanding flange.

ERNEST LINWOOD BLACKBURN. 

